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Intandem has Radical idea for content
By Stuart Kemp

July 17, 2007

LONDON -- U.K.-based sales, production and finance house Intandem, listed here on the Alternative Investment Market, is embarking on a corporate strategy lifted straight out the pages of a comic book.

Intandem has snapped up a 5% stake in burgeoning L.A.-based comic book publisher Radical Publishing and sister movie label Blatant Pictures for an undisclosed amount.

"We are very excited about this deal. It fits perfectly into our strategy, providing us with another source of quality commercial product for studios and top distributors," Intandem CEO Gary Smith said in an interview.

Smith, who has steered the company from scratch to a floated company on AIM in less than five years, says his ambition is to create a company that can be involved with movie opportunities early.

The stake gives Smith and company access to a growing empire steered by Radical president and publisher Barry Levine, a former business partner with Mike Richardson and Dark Horse Entertainment, whose credits include "Timecop" and "Hell Boy."

Levine is the executive producer on the comic-book adaptation "Rex Mundi" at Warner Bros. and Initial Entertainment Group, with Johnny Depp's company Infinitum Nihil producing along with Richardson.

Through the linkup, Intandem will be the sales agent for all Radical Publishing and Blatant Pictures output, with Intandem taking executive producer credits on projects with the remit to source financing for all forthcoming products.

As a stakeholder, the British company also will participate in all Radical revenue, film, television, toys and animation opportunities.

Intandem also aims to help broker deals with Hollywood studio labels. The company recently struck a deal with Paramount Pictures International to take English-speaking theatrical rights to Bob Weide's "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People." Paramount Vantage has struck a deal for North American rights to the Simon Pegg and Kirsten Dunst starrer.

Levine, speaking in an interview from Los Angeles, said Intandem beat out about a dozen companies to take a stake in Radical's future output.

"Gary (Smith) and his team really understand what our company's goal and vision is. They got beyond the 2-D content and saw that we share a desire to give people quality, and you can't make that promise if you are always giving away rights to the content you create," Levine said. "I want Intandem to help us expand in movies and participate in them."

Radical is prepping a major debut at this year's San Diego Comic-Con show, taking several properties to the shindig, including imagery from "Hercules," currently out to directors, with Universal's Rogue Pictures producing.

Radical's slate also includes Sam Sarkar's comic creation "Caliber," which is being produced with Infinitum Nihil, Terrance Chang and John Woo for Lionrock Prods., with Woo attached to direct.

Intandem also will exec produce and sell "Legends," to be directed by Patrick Tatopoulos, the renowned production and creature designer on a host of movies including "I, Robot," "Underworld" and "Stargate."

"With our increased access to finance and high-level projects ... we would expect to have four high-profile titles per year creating a quality slate over the next five years," Smith said.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/conten...4a9d4e56a3674ce

Thanks, Karen!

Good for Sam! I wonder what it's about. It's interesting to see that Rex Mundi is still in the works. When oh when will Johnny be able to fit it all in? I so want The Ginger Man and The Rum Diary to happen.

IN has a lot in the works and I hope something comes to fruition soon, with or without Johnny.

Question: JD's company is listed as producing- does that means investing money not necessarily acting in all of these projects? IN staff members could actually tend to the day to day tasks and report to JD per email, conference calls etc., so he can still act in his various projects right?

On the Zone, Emma posted an article from 1/28/06 from the Toronto Globe and Mail which gives this synopsis of Sam Sarkar's comic:

"a reimagining of the Arthurian legend as a western, with King Arthur as the town sheriff, Lancelot as a gunslinger and Guinevere as a saloonkeeper. "

Johnny's company is producing but I do not think he himself will produce or act in these films. We will see of course. Very exciting for johnny.




Yvonne in LA :P

Another mention about IN and Sam Sarkar's Caliber.

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http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=11410
CCI: RADICAL CONCEPTS
by Chris Evans, Contributing Writer
Posted: July 29, 2007 — More From This Author

The Radical Comics team was getting the word out about their new company by previewing upcoming comics and books in a slideshow program.
The team got started with everyone praising each other for their contributions as each member of the team is important to the fledgling company's current path to success.

Each slide showed highly detailed art, digitally painted in most cases, with many of the projects being vehicles for future films. Radical Publishing is actually three separate departments of film, comics, and art books (oversized, coffee table format). The main idea behind the publishing company is that they'll take iconic figures or concepts and turning them on their head in new, creative ways. Almost all the titles were explained by making comparisons to classic stories.

The first slide was of "Nick Percival's Legend," a series starring Red Riding Hood as monster hunter. Joined by Jack the Giant Killer, Hansel and Gretel, and her daughter Verity, the main thrust of the story is about the love between a mother and daughter.

The next was "Hercules." A version designed by Jim Steranko, this Hercules is a Conan-style hero with a large assortment of archaic weapons. His godly strength waning after completing his 12 legendary trials, the hero surrounds himself with mercenaries and weapons as he makes his way to discover the truth behind recent events.

"Aladdin" was up next, a tongue-in-cheek depiction that will be far from Disney's animated movie (there will be no flying carpet). It was mentioned the character will be caught in the middle of a new land as he finds himself in Northeast Africa with his close friend Sinbad (Han Solo to Aladdin's Luke).

"Caliber" slid by next, with the team saying it's a Johnny Depp project possibly in the works for an upcoming movie. Described as an 'Arthurian Western,' the series will be five issues with a #0 starting things off in May or June. The title is the main character's legendary weapon, but instead of Excaliber the sword, it's Caliber the gun.

"Feast of Fools" was quickly described as '30 Days of Night' in prison as a bloody set of teeth seen in the shadows of a jail cell.

"Amano: The Winds of Silence" will be the first 'coffee table book' coming out with more than 300 paintings and minimal text. Although more of an art book, it is described as a supernatural love story.

"Medieval" by John Bolton will be like the "Wild Bunch" in the 11th century. A shipwrecked group of Vikings on the shores of Southern Spain, they soon end up protecting a small village from the forces of corruption, realizing it's worth dying for a noble cause.

There was a project called "Solitude" by Vincent Perez. Vincent was the second actor to play "The Crow" after Brandon Lee's death and is currently a film director in France.

"Ryder on the Storm" an upcoming project by Steve Niles was described as a supernatural "Chinatown."

"Orphan," with art by Bill Sienkiewicz, is about a mother and daughter assassination team. Their superiors think the daughter could be the greatest assassin of all time, while the daughter wants nothing to do with killing and thus flees at the start of the story. The mother is then given 24 hours to retrieve her errant child before the order is given to kill.

"Legends" and "Hercules" will be the first books out as the company will then release the other works upon completion. There are no deadlines at the new company as they feel a deadline will only rush the work, and limit the quality.